Bryant,
I know you asked Cutter Bay the question but I will also answer as to how I do it and like Mike says it is best to keep the whole litter or place the pups in the right hands with the agreement to breed to the ones that turn out. Placing pups is another thread...
Some folks just don't appreciate a good dog or have a clue like most do on this site.
When I talk about the ages it is ball park but somewhat close. Some breeds probably can't test until way older due to their rate of maturity...
8-10 week old pups...I use hunger to my advantage and the pups are in a 10x10 kennel inside my back yard. the backyard is 2 lots and is fenced in. I use beef liver to test and I make sure the pups are very hungry and hungry is key. The liver is chopped in small pieces and the pups all will be standing at the kennel wanting to be petted when I come up. this is conditioning that I expose the pups to when younger. I walk up to the fence and pet the pups a bit and then I give them a taste of raw liver. I whoop and holler and just excite the pups as I feed them their own tidbit and then I let them out. Again whooping and hollerin is conditioning to excite the pups later when giving commands to go get em or get ahead. Training starts early...After a couple of days of these tasty snacks (never feed much), the pups will go crazy when I walk toward their kennel. I always position myself from the upwind side so that the pups can wind/smell what I have for them. Again I am conditioning the pups to wind without actually training.
I walk up to the pen and show them the liver and put it almost to their noses. I then walk out to the yard and position the liver pieces throughout the yard and always where they can circle and wind.
Before I open the gate I am taking mental notes as to who is winding and wanting out etc. etc. I open the gate and let the pups out. I whoop and holler encouragement...The first time I usually have to lead the majority of the pups out and I might have to range and circle some...
I let them out about 2 or 3 times a week for this exercise and do this for 2 or 3 weeks give or take.
I train very little but condition and expose the pups to situations...I usually take the path of least resistance...
it just sounds better than saying I do it the lazy mans way.
also the pups have a short attention span so I take that into consideration.
My mental notes during this exercise;
to identify who finds more liver consistantly
who makes the bigger circles
who uses their nose for winding
who stays focused
The next step in evaluating is trailing ability...
Not saying what I do is selecting the best pup by 1 or 2 years of age by doing it this way but it sure makes me feel better when selecting.
and I am not going to say how often it has worked.
I have seen pups that I didn't like turn on and were excellent hunting dogs by 1 year or so...
I reckon I do this more for recreation...because it is the most fun part.
These excercise might work good for me because I use hunting/trailing type dogs so this is kind of second nature for them. I don't think I could accomplish these tests using great dane pups..
